Workout of the Day

Apr 04

Responsible Car Ownership (Saves Lives)

You probably remember the first car you bought with your own money. You probably also remember how you took care of that first car you bought, especially during the “honeymoon phase.” You stayed on top of regular oil changes, you meticulously cleaned the interior and didn’t let anyone bring food or drinks in your car, you used the best quality parts and fluids, you worried over any odd sound or rattle, and you regularly visited your mechanic for “check ups” to keep your car running well. In general, one might call this responsible ownership.

You took care to keep your car running, to keep it safe, to prevent wear and tear, and to keep it performing and looking its best.

While the concept of ownership is easier to grasp for a car that you handed over thousands of dollars for, it applies to things like your health and fitness, too. Just as there are responsible (and irresponsible) car owners, there are responsible and irresponsible “self owners.”

It’s easy to look at ownership and the responsibility it entails as an individual problem -- if Jack is an irresponsible car owner, it’s his own loss when his car only lasts for 70,000 miles, right? While this is certainly true, there are significant ripple effects to consider as well. When a poorly-maintained car spins out on the freeway because it was running on bald tires, suddenly that guy’s problem becomes a lot of other people’s problem, too. And the same applies to your ownership over your self. The irresponsible individual implicates friends, family, and society at large when lack of self care, general apathy, and reckless behavior stands in for practices and behaviors of personal responsibility.

We share roads, and we share a planet and the commonality of being human, too.

I think we should all take responsible ownership over our cars and selves, partly because I think that there’s something significant, in and of itself, to the practice of personal responsibility and the healthy pride of ownership. But if that’s not good enough, I think we should take responsible ownership over our cars and selves because you and I aren’t on this earth alone.